Kavalan - Solist - Sherry - Festival Notes

At the stand of Bresser & Timmer at the Whisky Live 2013 we had a taste of the Kavalan Solist Sherry. A lovely bottling bottled at 57,8% CS, and non chilled filtered and no colouring added.

Wow! What a beautiful one, not too heavy on the dry tannins, full of flavour... Big, rich and dark... wow! Raisin, dark fruit, nuts, spices, vanilla... #nomnomnom

On the website of the distillery they tell me this is matured in oloroso sherry casks in special editions. Kavalan Solist Sherry is bottled by hand at the distillery, without any colouring and chill-filtration. It is a naturally smooth and rich whisky with a complex character. Kavalan Solist Sherry was also awarded Best Rest of the World Single Malt Whisky 2011 at World Whisky Awards.

This brand is new to me must say, just heard of it a while back, and was interesting to taste something of their range. Have an other sample at home from Kavalan Single Malt, looking forward to trying that one. The Solist Sherry was a hit for me with an 8 out of 10 score and goes directly on the list of to buy when possible. Hope to make some more extensive notes when the opportunity is there, a better and bit less 'hasty' encounter, might lift the score even higher then this.

What is there to know about this distillery? On their website it is stated that the first whisky distillery in Taiwan 'Kavalan distillery' is part of the King Car Group. 

  

King Car group, with more than 2000 employees, was established in 1956 and runs business in several fields: beverages, food, biotechnology, aquaculture, among others. It is particularly famous for its RTD coffee. 

The first bottle of Kavalan was released in December 2008 and now it is the best-selling expression. The recipe of classic Kavalan is complex and contains different types of casks- fresh bourbon, fresh sherry and refill casks rendering the spirit a multilayer of fruity and floral notes. 

There is also an incredible visitor centre on site. This neo-Classical visitor centre, or convention centre is decorated with marble internally and dressed stone externally. More than one million visitors come to the distillery per year. It comes as no surprise thatWhisky Magazine has named Kavalan distillery 2011 World Icons of Whisky, “Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year”. 

Kavalan, the earliest tribe that inhabited Yilan, represents sincerity, honesty, and the spirit of step-by-step cultivation. Kavalan distillery continues the tradition of passionate commitment to creating the premium whisky.

I think we have to plan a trip to Taiwan :-)